Educated destitutes including Supreme Court lawyer found abandoned on Vizag roads
Visakhapatnam: Some well-educated yet abandoned people, including a Supreme Court lawyer and those who speak English and other non-native languages fluently are being spotted in an abandoned state on the city roads.
They are obviously not in a proper mental condition and are being picked up and treated at the Government Hospital for Mental Care (GHMC) here with help from the Association for Urban and Tribal Development (AUTD), which runs the night shelters of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC).
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, GHMC psychiatry professor Dr. Ramanand narrated a case of Alla Rama Devi, who had been enrolled as a member of the Supreme Court bar association (SCBA). She suffered from Schizophrenia, a serious mental disorder.
“She will be alright within a week or two, but requires lifelong treatment. We consulted the SCBA, which assured us that it would take her back soon after her treatment is completed here. She speaks four languages including English and Telugu fluently,” Ramanand said.
He said there have been several such cases here.
SCBA admin officer Baldev Singh Pal from New Delhi said, “Rama Devi was initially admitted to a mental care hospital in Delhi. We don’t know what happened to her thereafter. We are in touch with the doctor that treats her in Vizag. She is still an active member of our bar.”
Nearly 10 people, some of them from Hindustan Shipyard, Coromandel in Vizag, were also spotted roaming in the city without a home and in the manner of destitute, said AUTD secretary Pragada Vasu.
“As per our estimates, there will be nearly 3,000 destitute here, who require mental health care. We frequently spot people like Rama Devi on the roads. Recently, a 70-year old man was spotted. He did not like to reveal his identity but speaks English fluently,” Vasu said.
As per the Mental Health Act 2017, with support of the local police, people can admit the mentally ill destitute at any mental care hospital for treatment.
Vasu said the government should give strict instructions to the police, GVMC and mental care hospitals for rescue and treatment of the abandoned who roam aimlessly in the city limits.
